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Cisco, San Jose, Calif., won the category with an overall score of 79.5—3.9 points ahead of Hewlett-Packard's ProCurve networking division, which placed second with a score of 75.6. Rounding out the top five were 3Com at 73.5, Nortel Networks at 70.1 and Juniper Networks at 65.6. The strength of Cisco's technology make the vendor's lineup of Catalyst switches, 7000-series routers and Integrated Services Routers a formidable enterprise networking portfolio, solution providers said. "Cisco's routers and switches always sell. We really don't have any competition selling them, only other Cisco partners," said Christopher Tjotjos, president and CEO of Logos Communications, a Cisco partner based in Westlake, Ohio. The vendor made its most aggressive showing in overall technical satisfaction, where it won all five areas and bested HP, its closest rival, by 8.1 points. Its most decisive victories were in the areas of scalability and product reliability, where it beat out HP by 11.4 points and 10 points, respectively. Partners lauded the vendor's modular technology, which enables services such as security or VoIP to be added to routers and switches. "They're all modular now so you can put in a VPN blade or a content switching module," said Mike Zanotto, COO of Skyline Advanced Technology Services, a solution provider in Campbell, Calif. "You don't need multiple boxes." On channel program criteria, the contest was much tighter. Cisco's most decisive win came in technical education, where it beat both HP and 3Com by 5.7 points. It also rose high in the areas of visibility and consistency of channel programs. However, solution providers identified areas where Cisco could stand some improvement, including total ROI, reducing channel conflict, and margins and rebates. John Growdon, director of routers and switches for worldwide channels at Cisco, pointed to Cisco's deal registration and trade-in programs as part of the company's efforts to reduce channel conflict and improve partner profitability.  |
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